Projo Pats Blog

Watching Matt Cassel drive the offense down the field in the last two minutes of the half, how much confidence does that give you in Matt [Cassel] to be able to pull off that type of drive?
I think it reaffirms the things that we already thought of Matt. He's had limited opportunities between the preseason and practices but I think we're all confident in Matt. He's got a lot of ability, strong arm and he's accurate as well. I think it just reaffirms our view of him already.

This team has taken different routes over the years of getting the running game going. When Corey Dillon was here he was the horse. Right now you guys seem to be sharing the load a lot. It seems to be effective, how do you feel about your role in that?
To use that type of backfield effectively you have to have the right kind of guys to do it, in the sense of, not [being] selfish, putting the team first and we're not focused on stats and that stuff. I think we have that here. Aside from the on-field talent we have in the backfield I think it speaks for the characters of the guys we have doing that. We're all our biggest supporters when the other one is on the field.

Do you see anybody taking a lead role in the backfield or does it look like it's going to go as situations dictate?
I don't think anybody is looking to see, I don't think it plays a factor in the way we approach practice or games. The biggest thing in finding the quote-unquote leading role is for the media guides and programs. Once the game gets there we let the coaches make that decision. In order to do that you have to have the right character guys in the mindset of 'we're all looking to make the most of our opportunities when we get them in the game and like I said, putting the team first is our biggest focus.

On the blockers up front did anything stand out to you? It seemed like when you ran off tackle or to the tight end there were some openings. Was there one blocker that was pretty consistently opening up holes for you?
Collectively they all played well up front and I think you have to include the tight ends and Heath [Evans] in that as well. Matt Light did a great job. He's such a powerful and quick guy so he gets on those blocks pretty quickly and that makes our reads a lot easier. Then Logan [Mankins] and Billy [Yates] on the inside and Dan Koppen as well, there are times when the zones come through the middle where getting their blocks quick and either keep moving them, pushing them back, or at least keeping it on the line [of scrimmage]. I think they did a good job up front of making our reads easier. I know a couple times with Nick [Kaczur], the right tackle, he's on the right side, they were running a stunt and you have to make a quick read and he was able to get his body into it and hit the guy out of the way. It clears up a lot of reads for us.

Can you expound on the tight ends in the blocking game?
I think with Ben [Watson] and Dave [Thomas] they've been doing quite a bit of blocking from a fullback set as well so I think that really opens it up for us in terms of their blocking but they're also receiving threats back there. A lot of times Dave [Thomas] is coming through and making blocks that Heath [Evans] will usually make and Ben is doing the same thing. That's not the path that they usually take to get a block but like I said they've adjusted well. They're very athletic and they're doing a great job of that as well.

How much did that early bomb [66-yard touchdown] to [Randy] Moss open things up for the running game yesterday?
It was huge. I think whether we hit that pass or not obviously any defense has to respect the fact that Randy Moss is out there and he's got blazing speed out there but to actually hit it, to connect on the pass is even more in there psyche. You have to honor that. You have to wait, even if its just a second or two longer, to make sure it's a run on the play action or you have to make sure that it is a run before the safeties start coming up quick. The second thing is that it gives you more time to eat up the yards.

When it comes to developing a running attitude, how much does gaining short yardage help? Meaning if you need one yard even though you might run for two it's a successful run. How much does that help the team have a running attitude?
That's situational football. That's one thing that Coach Belichick is always emphasizing. If it's third and one and you get two yards it's probably not good on the average but it keeps the drive going. I think short yardage and the goal line, those types of runs are close to 90 percent attitude and heart just to be able to find a little seam or a little crack and force your way to the first down and keep the drive going.

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